A Fond Look Back at Luigi's Mansion 

I’ve always held a particular analogy for all three Luigi’s Mansion games: Luigi’s Mansion is like you exploring your own house over and over again, getting familiar with everything in it and knowing it like the back of your head. LM: Dark Moon is like you visiting your friends/cousins house, you can know quite a few things about the many places you go, and it’s quite fun to see what other places have to offer in comparison to your own house, but it never feels truly personal like your own home. LM3 is like visiting a theme park like Disney or Universal, when you go there once, you wanna go to and experience everything the park has to offer. But by the end of it all, you’re generally burnt out and probably won’t visit it again for a while. But it was a fun trip while it lasts.

This game is such a creative, bold, and intriguing launch title. So much so that I don't think it was fully appreciated at the time for just how original it is. This is the ideal Nintendo game in so many ways. It's fun, fresh, short, and polished. And its perfectly balanced spookiness has never been fully recaptured. Really great video, it's easy to tell how much you love this game. And your jokes and pacing are just getting better and better with every upload!

2:52 Luigi had actually already been established as timid. Luigi being timid was something Charles Martinez improvised at an event that stuck. Essentially, at this event there was a booth where you could talk to Mario: There was a screen with Mario as a virtual avatar with Charles voicing him in real-time. People asked Mario if they could talk to Luigi, and so what Martinez improvised was this: He'd have Mario look over to his right and call out to Luigi and ask if Luigi wanted to talk. He'd then switch over to doing his Luigi voice, and act panicked with stage fright. Luigi would apologize off-screen and say that he's too shy to come on-camera.

Luigi's mansion story let's you know that, despite his negative feelings, Luigi is able to face anything for his brother. It's quite endearing.

That reveal at the bottom of the well was a core memory for me too. I was in elementary school when I first played this game, and I remember chatting about the game with my friends on the playground. We were all playing the game for the first time, speculating about what had happened to Mario, and I said, "Wouldn't it be crazy if he got turned into a painting?" When I got home from school that day and continued playing, my mind was blown when I came to the well for the first time. I couldn't believe that I had called it.

This video might be the first Luigi's Mansion video to capture my thoughts and feelings completely. This was one of the first games I remember seeing an online playthrough of back in 2007, being amazed, and actively sought out to play. Perfect amount of creepiness for a child to be slightly unsettled, but with all the charm, atmosphere, and heart of that era. Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox really feel like a golden age of creativity in the gaming industry. Most of the franchises that still thrive today either started here or mastered their 3D design formula in that era. I remember the childhood feelings of relief when the lights turn on, the dread of Bogmire's appearance with his music, and the panic of the blackout. Your description of "slipping back into a comfortable pair of shoes" and the mansion being like a "second home" is almost scarliy accurate to my own experience. This game will always feel like summer-autumn days in the late 2000s... As much as the 3DS version is extremely competent, I too love Luigi's admittedly cute and funny model with amazing expression! One other change the 3DS version has that keeps me from preferring it is the way darkness is portrayed visually. Instead of the screen literally being darkened, the game just turns really blue. Which is an understandable change for a handheld version, but it does take away, in my opinion. A similar thing happened with darkness in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask 3D. Though, I will say, all of these games are stunning, and I even prefer these versions for Zelda because of their graphical upgrades, performance, and general lighting enhancements! Grezzo did very good job on all three of them, baring some strange, but minor, changes to Majora. TL;DR: I'm pleased that someone else on this planet shares the same fondness for this silly, little Gamecube game :)

This was a good video. Luigi’s Mansion is my favorite video game of all time, I have it on GameCube like everyone else, I’ve collected all the games in the franchise. But this particular game is my favorite of the series. As well as my favorite video game of all time. Speed running is fun as well. I know where every coin is, dollar bill, gem, and treasure. Golden mice, speedy spirits, etc. I’ve been able to get every ghost on gold frames as well. It’s a really enjoyable game and with it being 23 years old this year, that’s a lot of time to master this game. It’s short & sweet. Me & my cousin pull out the old GameCube out and play this game every time we get together. There’s a fun science with c-sticking with Bogmire, you can take care of him in one well fell swoop. Some fun glitches here and there. What a great gem of a video game Luigi’s Mansion truly is.

Fun fact! You can get a skew (changing Luigi's standing position) by tripping on a mouse and letting go of the control stick 2 frames after hitting the mouse. You can do this in the Area 1 hallway before Neville. You can clip in between the 1st and 2nd floor and maneuver to King Boo in just around 5 minutes. The record is 5m 02s by minimini.

I’ve replayed RE2, no joke, easily 100+ times. I used to come home nearly every day after school and start a new game and be done by dinner time with plenty of time to spare. I’ve only played through Luigi’s Mansion probably 3-4 times in my life. Despite such a dramatic difference in the amount of time I’ve spent with each series, I have so much more nostalgia for Luigi’s mansion (the actual house) than I ever will for the Spencer Mansion, RCPD, etc. I think it comes down to how tangible it feels since all of the environments are destructible/interactive in some way. It just immerses you in a way that even most games today aren’t able to.

Oh, yeah. My favortite type of video. An essay on Luigi's Mansion. Almost as iconic as Super Mario 64 in this regard. Wasn't expecting that! It was quite a noce surprise today

i have great memories of repeatedly playing through this game start to finish without saving because i lost my memory card. think im gonna give it another go years later because of this vid

I have quite a bit of nostalgia for this game as well, as it was one of the only games I had for my Gamecube back in the day. This video has got me itching to replay it lol. I hope to see you cover the sequels in the future! Great job on this video

Welp found my new favorite channel. I love Luigis mansion, theres something about that first one that has something magical about it. Great vid man, expect 500 extra views bc im BINGIN

Fire ass video dude. This the kind of content that makes me happy RU-vid exists.

Love to hear you talk bout two and especially 3 it's my personal fave in turns of gameplay but one was a big part of my childhood.

watching this video and realizing that we had very similar childhoods lmao -a GBA you played that belonged to a sibling -receiving a Gamecube circa 2006 -endlessly playing The SpongeBob Movie game among other smash hits -Luigi's Mansion being one of the only survivors of the cycle of trading in games to fund new ones -Boolossus being the least favorite boss, though for me as a kid I only hated Boolossus because I forgot you could hold L softly to stream ice so I was constantly trying to snipe the Boos with the ice balls really the big divergence is how I didn't receive Luigi's Mansion with my console but how I bought it in...I want to say a Sears, sometime later. Good times because I had no memory card back then so Luigi's Mansion's inherent replayability was a huge boon. I still love the game to this day, and to this day it too remains my favorite of the Luigi's Mansion series. It always makes me happy to see this game receive the love it deserves after the comparatively cold shoulder it received in its heyday, at least in my experience.

Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash bros. Melee were my first GameCube games. What an incredible time to be a gamer. Luigi is definitely a much more enjoyable character for me than Mario. As I have gotten older I find Luigi to be very wholesome and admirable. Unlike his brother, Luigi is often timid and terrified of many things. BUT, he still finds the courage within himself to push through his fear and do what needs to be done. Luigi ain't no bitch. A true coward would turn tail and hide. Luigi looks his fear in the face and powers through to do what is right to protect the people he cares about. Sure he might not be having fun, or enjoying the adventure. But he knows he has people that need him, and that's all that matters. Also the animation and character moments in Luigi's Mansion 3 make Luigi look absolutely adorable. That game is gorgeous and has personality bursting from the seams. From start to finish you could really feel the passion from the developers.

I remember my mom coming home with this bad boy and being scared absolutely shitless of this game! The first battle with the baby was too much for young me lol

I remember getting this game in the first few months of the GameCube because I was getting orthodontic surgery that required my jaw to be wired shut for 16 days and my parents asked me what would help ease the pain. I said a GameCube and Luigi's mansion. I vaguely remember wandering the mansion with my mouth wired shut only being able to use Luigi's call to his brother as my voice since I couldn't speak at the time.

This deserves more views. Great video.

The Game Cube also was my childhood console and I loved Luigi’s mansion too. Also PIKMIIIIIN

I always enjoyed the og Luigi's Mansion. I never understood all the negativity towards it when it was initially released. I think the problem was (and still is) that most want advanced graphics, blood and gore, realism, and nothing "childish." Unfortunately many people see Nintendo (and their games) as childish. As the real ones know. Nintendo focuses on making fun games. And we see time and time again, games that once thought to be lame becoming adored yeats later. And no, I don't think nostalgia has anything to do with it. Sorry. Rambled for no reason. Keep up the great work!

Bro I think me and this dude had the same childhood, this and wind waker. 😭 fantastic review friend

Dude, I've been binging your videos all day. Your videos remind of that golden era of Video Essays/Reviews from back in the day, cant get enough of it. Was genuinely shocked to see your sub count NOT at 100k+. Definitely a got a new fan in me, keep up the banger content 🙌

You’re implying you’re going to make a Pikmin video and I would want that

I’ve been waiting! Hope you do the 3D Mario’s!

My favorite reviewer, my favorite Gamecube game. Looking forward to diving into this one

Not sure if anyone has said already, but there are two different versions of the hidden mansion on the GameCube depending on the region. One of them is the one you mentioned, where the vacuum is stronger, ghost attacks are stronger etc. But there is also the other version (which I think is just the European and Japanese versions) where the mansion is mirrored, different ghosts appear in areas where they usually wouldn't etc. This is the one that the 3DS version took its inspiration from :)

Back in the day I had a promotional disc for the gamecube with some game trailers on it. I don't remember which trailers were on there except for one: Luigi's Mansion. I must have watched that trailer dozens of times. When I was lucky enough to get a gamecube for my birthday and I actually got to play Luigi's Mansion I was so happy. I distinctly remember geeking out when I saw the in-game poster with the classic universal monsters on it.

You've certainly took me on a trip down back in memory lane with this review. Thanks for the hard work. It really does make me reflect on how much a lot of my personalized gaming taste (moreso in controller/player interaction being shown with the effects on screen) was influenced upon me. Got a sub and a like from me chief. I'll take my time exploring more of your content!

Lovely love letter! It's ironic how they remade LM for 3DS and now LM2 is on Switch, that felt a little bit insulting and oddly personal lol Hope to see LM in HD one day, such a gem! 💎

When I was really young I loved this game! I remember that when it came to playing the game itself I had no problem but for some reason I would always have to ask my brother to get through the title screen for me because it would freak me out that much and I’m not sure why lol

Great vid! I feel that you captured how much charm this game has really well. I also love how Luigi’s mansion helped to shape his personality into what it is today as a counter balance for the almost fearless Mario!

The more years that go by the more I love this game.

If you actually spin the control stick in circles, it holds the Boos in place for a hot second, it makes it just a little easier to catch them, great video btw!

This game is a personal favorite, and in my head it is a masterpiece! It has yet to be replicated, even the spirit (lol) of the game has yet to return to any sort of AAA or indie game. It isn't even captured in its two sequels. I love this game and I break out my GameCube every October just to play it, and I end up playing it all the way through a minimum of three times. What I think is so special about the game is that its combination of format and ranking system have yet to be adopted elsewhere. It has an arcade feel but it isn't a roguelike. It's short yet infinitely replayable. It doesn't spell out all of its lore and backstory to you. It would be easy to play through the game and miss all of the little details that come with each portrait ghost-- Hell, with each toad! And don't even get me started about the music! Though the sequels have their value to them and are good in their own respective ways, they both pail in comparison to the original. I don't understand why they can't hit the nail on the head again, the formula is right there and so are all of the ingredients. Here is my premise for the next Luigi's Mansion game. For story purposes, put Dr. E Gad in debt to Wario. Wario in this game will be buying up a lot of abandoned real estate (haunted real estate), and E Gad being an old timer asks the pure-hearted Luigi to help him pay off his debts to Wario by going into these new properties and ghost-bust. There should be three properties of increasing size/play time, and each property will have its own lore, theme, and character ghosts. The first could be 3 hours in length or 90 minutes if you know what you're doing, the second is the size of the OG mansion, and the third is larger by 2-3 hours. After completing a property the gold that Luigi finds goes towards E Gad's debt. An added bonus to having multiple mansions would be that Nintendo could develop and release DLC with new properties and new ghosts. Great video! you reminded me of how much I love Luigi's Mansion, and I might even dust off my GameCube early this year!

Oh my gosh I never made out Mario's words until you said that, thats crazy!

I remember the Pikmin trailer that was also included with beta footage.

GameCube will forever be my favorite console with my favorite gaming memories. I literally have a giant framed GameCube fanart poster on my wall.

Luigi’s Mansion is such a fun little game. It has so much charm and character with the a unique gameplay loop. I’m glad Nintendo gave us a remake, dark moon, and 3. I hope we get more Luigi’s Mansion in the future

My fave game of all time. So re playable and fun. Could never get bored of this game

I played this game so many times as a kid and early teen. Nice.

23:27 That is so how i reacted lmaoo

Luigi's Mansion 1 is my favorite game of all time, and I've probably finished it close to or over 60 times across both versions. Such a special game to me. Also I've done the all gold frame run, and it's super stressful once you get towards the end of the game lol. Boolosus, Sir Weston, and King Boo I'd say are the 3 hardest fights in the game.

¡Que bien! Un nuevo vídeo de PGR. Hoy es un buen día.

Very, very well made video, Fam..! ✌️👽

Grew up watching Chuggaaconroy play Luigi's Mansion, im pretty sure a lot of us did too, and got to play the original once. Loved it still wish i had my copy.

I remember playing this game when I was very young and being absolutely terrified. During one of the first encounters with a ghost I got up and turned the GameCube off

Ahh I love this game so much! When I was younger it definitely triggered my adrenaline rush moments and it kept me on my toes

Bravo! A truly excellent video on my favorite GameCube game!

One of the projects that are part of the Nintendo-Universal deal is a Luigi movie. It's all in the psychology. In February 2022, Charlie Day talked about how his son was playing Luigi's Mansion and he was now interested in adapting it. Fast forward to March 2023 and not only is Day completely in favour of a Luigi movie, but Chris Pratt brings up an "NCU" and specifically mentions Luigi's Mansion. Miyamoto and Meledandri read every review of the movie and noted the unanimous agreement that Luigi needed more screentime. They then quoted the Hulk: "I see this as an absolute win". To an executive, not only does this mean that Mario and Luigi need to go on an adventure together in the sequel. It means that fans want Luigi to have his own movie. Why am I bringing this up in a Luigi's Mansion retrospective? Because it's so damn surreal that Nintendo now has enough faith in Luigi that they believe he can carry a project on his own. And that it's possible that what started out as a tech demo is getting a movie adaptation.

This video is phenomenal!! I love this game so much there is NOTHING like it

I recently played the game for the first time on my 3DS, and while I enjoyed it a lot, I did notice that the gameplay felt a bit off sometimes. Thanks to you I now know what I'm missing out from the original, so I'll make sure to play that one as soon as I can. Edit: Also, congrats on (almost) hitting 10K subs. ^-^)b

This game was really special for me as a kid, my brother handed me down his copy of Luigi's mansion when i got a gamecube to play on with the complete guide included. I would just sit there and pour over the layout of the mansion and i excitedly lit up as many floors as possible (i couldn't get the attic lit up 😭) just to play around in the mansion like a big doll house. It was my first "virtual dollhouse" game and shaped the way i played any game after. Sure i was huge on rare games and other n64 3d games at the time but i had different ways to explore those rather than one location setting. I had lil stories foor each room and everything 😂 I dont think my childhood would have been the same without luigis mansion honestly. What a magical game. Btw i never beat it, my only goal in game was to light up the house to traverse it without being scared as a kid 😭 i got 48 boos and was literally right at boos door.

Love this game too, Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin are the two GC games I enjoy replaying. Both are short but packed with replayable content and even tho the sequels are nice they never capture the same atmosphere and feel. Bit of a shame there's no official way the public can play it these days, it looks really good for a game of its age and only a few minor tweaks make it look practically current gen.

Love this! As a late era millennial, borderline gen Z’er, the GameCube was the first console I was given as a gift. My parents had an SNES before I was born and I played Super Mario World and DKC when I was like 3, but I sucked. I was about 5 when I got the GameCube which was when I started getting good at games. Luigi’s Mansion, Sunshine, and Wind Waker were the trifecta of games that defined my early childhood. I still play them every couple years. I also think Luigi’s Mansion is what turned me into such a horror freak as an adult 😂

My first console was the Wii and I got Luigi’s Mansion to play through the virtual console, but I was too scared to play it 😭, and I also didn’t have a card to save progress. So my Luigi’s mansion was Dark Moon, and I played tf out of that game. Even though I hadn’t really played it, I watched so many LP’s on the original. So It has as big of an impact on me as Dark Moon.

When I first rented Luigi’s mansion to get a trophy in super smash melee. I could not figure out how to get past the first area. Then when I played it again as an adult I played and beat it. It’s up there with banjo kazooie as one of my all time favorite video games ever

LM1 is the GOAT, I can (and have) write essays about how every minute aspect working in harmony to make it so perfectly amazingly good, its a bonafide case of "they dont make em like they used to" but I'm still dreaming for another! The upcoming TTYD remake gives me a lot of hope actually cause Paper Mario was in the exact same boat.

Love a good retrospective, and love Luigi's Mansion. Great stuff!

Keep going to get 10k!!!

the first game's always my favorite for its combat, enemy variety, and gameplay. I like having to backtrack to previous area to fight new bosses while also having to struggle against wrangling the ghosts into my vacuum.

Im 25 Y old but still have a hard time playing this game at night. Heck I played many horror games at night, like resident evil biohazard or left 4 dead. Just goes to show how unique was Luigi's mansion all these years.

Since you mentioned liking horror games, I would highly recommend that you try the Fatal Frame series. Start with Maiden of Black Waters. It's a Japanese horror game inspired by Resident Evil and Silent Hill, so I've heard. What I like most about Maiden of Black Waters, though, is just how well it's done, giving you the feeling that you really are in the game, in a place you should not be. It's really good at making you feel haunted. And just as soon as you start to feel less uncomfortable in an area... it makes you go deeper, and deeper, into progressively more creepy places, until you finally reach a place where the danger is simply being led away to your own d**th by walking too far the wrong way. In fact, since it's been long enough, I think I'm going to go play it again.

Amazing video, do you intendo to also do one for the sequels? My personal favorite is Dark Moon and i gotta say i'd love to see a video like this about it.

I love this video, and indeed this game is pretty charming. I Didn't knew it had such a feedback with the original controller. I would love to try that once. Pikmin jumpscare

3:50 I can not express my disappointment when I initially found out Luigi's "jiggly" nose physics were actually baked into the animations 😭

Great video! I relate ok the first game being better than the sequels only because of the horror feel to it. The sequels were goofy and didn’t have any of the horror elements from the first game. For example, the ghosts laughing and shaking the portraits still creeps me out to this day. Fun fact about the fortune teller. She doesn’t fight so you can just hold the R button. She may look like she’s trying to escape, but nope. Something I’ve discovered since I’ve poorer so many hours into this game when I was younger.

Finally had the chance to revisit this game and it was every bit as fun as I remember from when I was a kid playing with my brother and dad. This is a great review! Now I'm off to play the sequel😊

The sequels just don’t feel the same. Luigi’s mansion had incredible atmosphere and humor and an underlying dark edge to it. Great game

4:32 that mother f*cker scared me to shit when i was a kid.

very awesome video 💗

Definitely an October staple for me as well. Great game.

This video is making me wanna play the Luigi Mansions now. I never got into them and I only played a little bit of dark moon sadly. Another good video thank you for making it :)

I remember having mixed feelings about this game as a child, but the single thing that almost put me off entirely is the baby boss fight. I don't know why, but child me was scared shitless of that particular ghost lol

I still have my copy and play every year or so. Luigis mansion and mario sunshine. Also some others but i still have my mains

I love this game so much really good video and i cant wait for the dark moon remaster for the switch

I love every Luigi’s mansion but my favorite was always dark moon it was the first one I’ve played.

I used to play the hell out of this game and have a 100% Gold Frame Gallery. (Not in one playthrough though.) I know some sneaky tricks to combat a few of them.

Dude I don’t know what sound you have in this video that sounds like bottle rockets going off, but I thought I was going insane until I realized it was in the background music of this video. 😂

1:00 try Eternal Darkness, its a GameCube exclusive survival horror game that’s pretty unique.

This is my favorite game of all time. The sequels seem to miss out on the dark atmosphere and the ghosts iconic designs and personality.

Next to Peach's Castle in Mario 64, the mansion in Luigi's Mansion is a place I would totally love to live in, after all the ghosts are cleared out obviously lol

As much as I enjoyed 3 and liked the new additions it brought to the series, there's always just been something about it that always made me yearn for the simplicity and charm of the first. I think one of the big factors was the combat. The slam attack in 3, while fun at first, just isn't near as satisfying at mastering the push and pull of 1's combat.

I have a feeling Nintendo will release a Switch port of LM1 around the same time as LM2 HD this summer !

They should have released this with LM2 on switch, maybe they add it as dlc! I love this game I have fond memory’s of playing it.

You played the SpongeBob movie but have you played the Tak and the Power of Juju trilogy on GameCube? Tak and Power of Juju Tak 2 the Staff of Dreams and Tak the Great Juju Challenge? Those are GOATED 3D platformers

I still don't know why Nintendo made this game series but I'm glad they did

I NEVER hear anyone else talk about the Spongebob movie game on GCN

I fucking love this game

1:24 Nintendo you:sh*t

Lore of A Fond Look Back at Luigi's Mansion momentum 100

As someone growing up with the PAL version of luigis mansion, the 3DS remake didnt really add anything for me so i skipped it. the extra frame is nice but not enough to buy the game over, especially when the mansion being mirrored is such a cool aspect right out of OoT Master Quest.

I remember all these games being UNREASONABLY hard

Only played 3, and loved it. Would really liked to have played the original back in the day but a GameCube eluded me

Ok, that's another video on Luigi's Mansion that doesn't use the ice technique I figured out as a kid when hunting Boos. Pro tip: get the ice element, find a boo, shoot ice at it, start sucking it up for a few seconds, shoot ice again, rinse, and repeat. The higher HP Boos are programmed to leave the room once they've lost some health, but my technique lessens the number of times you have to chase these bast*rds.

Eternal darkness sanity's requiem

Let's goooo

21:32 so I think all 2000s nintendo kids have played pretend Luigi's Mansion irl 😅😅

Hope we get it on nso or physical for switch one day 🙏